The Backroom Staff - Futsal Player: Adam Fogt

Futsal Player: Adam Fogt

Futsal, growing the game and playing for Denmark

This site is about jobs in football. I thought for a while about whether this does/should include players. The answer, of course, is a clear yes - playing is the ultimate job in football! In this interview, Adam Fogt - a veteran of the Danish futsal national team tells me about his career, futsal in Denmark and his work to grow the sport.

Futsal and its emphasis on technique, creativity and speed of thought has long been foundational in player development across the world. A simple Google search reveals countless footballers - including Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo - talking about the influence futsal has had on their careers.

Former Barcelona and Spain legend Xavi, widely regarded as one of the most talented, technical players ever, sums it up nicely: “In futsal, you see whether a player is really talented. You notice the small details in quality, class and tactical understanding.”

Adam is, by all accounts, an impressive player. In addition to the national team, he’s a key member of a dominant Futsal Gentofte side that won 9 Danish championships, including 6 in a row (!) between 2018 and 2023. Beyond his playing career, Adam is driven by a bigger vision to elevate futsal as a sport of it’s own and inspire a new generation of players and fans.

The interview has been condensed and lightly edited for grammar and clarity. 

[ Can you tell me about your background in football and futsal? ]

I started playing football as a kid and played ‘regular’ football for around 20 years or so.

When I was maybe 21, I was asked to join a futsal game during the winter - when regular 11-a-side was shut down for break - at that point, I didn't know what futsal was. The futsal league in Denmark had only started a few years before, so it's still pretty young.

My first game was in the second division and it was just like, ‘here’s the futsal ball and a lot of rules’. Of course we didn’t know all the rules then but slowly, I started to enjoy it. I played a few games that season.

The next season, a former teammate (from 11-a-side) asked if I wanted to join his (futsal) team. They’d just been promoted to the top division. I've always liked to play small sided technical stuff. I'm not the biggest guy in the world, but I'm fast and technical. So that’s why I thought it could be for me. The season went really well, I scored 17 goals in 13 games and was selected for the national team. By then I knew there was something in it for me and I just stuck with it.

Initially, in maybe 3 or 4 seasons, I played both indoor and outdoor, but in the end my body kind of said take it easy! I got a sports hernia and had to have surgery, and started thinking about my career. Maybe it was also the recognition that I wasn’t going to be a professional footballer - I was playing in the 4th division in Denmark, still amateur level but a decent level, close to semi-professional. But I can be as close to pro as you can be in Denmark in futsal. I was on the best team in Denmark and the national team at that point so I just went ‘fully in’ on futsal.

We slowly developed a group of guys who just wanted to play futsal and this helped us develop and get a lot better. In the end I just said, ‘okay, I won't play outdoor anymore’ and committed to futsal.

[ Are there players in your club, or in the national team that ‘specialized’ in futsal from a much earlier age? ]

In Denmark, you can have 2 (player) licenses, so you can play both indoor and outdoor. It’s different in other countries though - I went to Milan during my master’s degree 4 years ago and played in the second division. In Italy they had only one license so you either play futsal or 11-a-side and that kind of forces people to decide. That’s a good thing because then you can also implement more at the youth level and players develop more technical skills and quicker thinking.

Some of my teammates and former teammates switched from futsal to football and are playing professionally now. When I made my debut with the national team, one of the best players made the switch successfully and has had a really good career in the Danish Superliga and has played for teams in the top tier in Denmark.

There’s others who have played futsal in Spain, Italy, Finland or in Sweden, where it’s a bit more professional than it is here, but not a lot of us.

I would call us, ‘professional amateurs’.

[ How is the futsal ‘pyramid’ in Denmark structured? ]

Last season was the first season we had a nationwide top league (before we had an ‘East’ and ‘West’ league with a final tournament). We have 10 teams in the league and playoffs with best-of-three series from quarter-finals onwards.

There’s a second division with promotion and relegation to the first league. And there’s other leagues which are not under the Danish FA so these teams can’t be promoted to our league but it’s not just like there’s only two leagues playing.

We don’t have a cup tournament yet but that could be on the table in the future.

There’s also youth championships but these players are just football players playing futsal in the winter.

[ Are the league and the national team administered by the Danish FA? ]

Yes, we are under the Danish FA (DBU) as amateurs. (On the national team) we get some sponsorship from the association, so we don’t pay anything when we travel - but not on the same terms as the A-teams! We stay 2 players to a room and travel in our own clothes most of the time. That’s what I mean by ‘professional amateur’.

[ You played for the Danish football national team during the contract dispute in 2018 (!) would love to hear about this experience! ]

We were a small group of national futsal players. We did it to make sure that we (Denmark) wouldn’t miss out on Euro and World Cup qualification matches, that we really look forward to because it's here that we can challenge ourselves against the best players.

If no team had shown up that day, the consequences could have been a serious ban for Denmark (the DBU) for up to four years I think. Looking back at it today, it was definitely a fun experience, but at the time, it was very stressful not knowing what consequences we could face as “normal” players, doing the A-team’s job. All of us wanted the real A-team to play, but for some reason it ended up being some of us.

[ And you had a notable, if unfortunate, contribution in the match? ]

It’s never fun to score an own goal, but I would say that there wasn’t much I could do! At least I'm the only player who has scored for two national teams in the same month, as we had faced Spain in a futsal game earlier that month.

[ What is your schedule like as a player? ]

When I began playing futsal the season was timed to fit with the football leagues, it was used as something you could do to keep yourself in shape over the winter. Now, it runs like a ‘normal’ football season - the next season starts on September 21 and will go until the end of May without a break. So it’s a lot of games!

We all have full time jobs, train 2 or 3 times a week and then a game on the weekend. Now, with the national league, games are across the whole country. Denmark is not that big but the longest trips are 5 or 6 hours by bus. That’s a whole day you just ‘rip out of the calendar’.

The season is longer for the team that wins the Danish championship. They automatically qualify for the Champions League. The club that won last year (Hjørring Futsal Klub) doesn’t have very many coefficient points and has to play first in the preliminary round now, in August. Whereas, the year before we had qualified directly for the main round in October.

If they qualify from the main round - where they will face more fully professional teams, they will play again in the elite round - the top 16 clubs in Europe - before a ‘Final 4’ to decide the champion.

On top of this, there are the national team activities - in World Cup or Euro qualification there is a preliminary round and a main round. Because we’ve done better in the last few years, we automatically qualify for the main round now. For us amateurs we’re very happy about this because we don’t need to spend our holiday time (for the preliminary round) and then cannot spend it on our families. I think last year or the year before there were 30 ‘traveling days’ with the national team. It’s good because we get to play together, but its a big personal puzzle to solve.

I am so invested in this because we really want to push futsal in Denmark but of course this is something to keep in mind.

[ Are the players at Gentofte all local or do you have players coming from around Denmark or different countries to play at the club? ]

I would say historically, we've had mainly Danish players. Over the years, we’ve had different players from Argentina, Sweden, Spain, and Greenland for example. But it’s more people who are here (in Copenhagen) to study or something.

But right now we have a Brazilian coach and a couple Swedish guys - but obviously Sweden is not far from here. So it’s more like you play where you live or study.

[ Are your coaches (club or national team) full time? ]

No, the national team coach also has a full time job and the same with the coach in our club. So there isn't anyone playing professionally in Denmark in terms of full time, salaries and such. But I think it’s on the way - some clubs are already moving on this kind of stuff.

Just like a lot of other sports, there is money somewhere but until we have a fully professional league, then it’s kind of unregulated.

[ How has futsal changed throughout your career? What do you think the future might look like? ]

The first step to becoming more professional was the creation of the national league. The competition will improve and it won’t be the same teams meeting all the time.

That should be a selling point for sponsors and TV rights. We had some small TV stations covering our games but it’s been shown on channels that you have to buy extra packages to get. Again, you won’t get in front of the public if you don’t show it in a place where they are looking for sport already.

We need to get our foot in (the door) in a few areas. Last season was the first where the association hired a kind of ‘director’ or ‘coordinator’ for the commercial side, helping to get futsal out to the wider public. I don’t know how far he is on that journey but that's a really good thing, because he will represent all the clubs.

There's also a lot more clubs who are more invested in training. The tactics and systems have changed a lot since I began and the coaches are improving too. This year we have a new coach from Brazil for example. It’s a big thing for Danish futsal to (be able to) develop more futsal coaches.

[ Does the Danish FA offer futsal specific coaching licenses/courses? ]

Yeah, they have courses. I know some of the coaches have been to other countries for additional courses as well. Some are really invested. In some clubs, it’s difficult for coaches because the players still play regular football and they don’t know if you have all the players in training and matches.

I would say, that is still the biggest issue for our sport in Denmark, that many players haven’t chosen futsal over football. I don’t know if it’s an issue of money or interest or if the season isn’t long enough, it could be a lot of things.

For now, futsal is in a pretty good place, it’s growing, it’s getting better. I'm looking forward to this season because the teams are also getting closer, more competitive. We used to win the league, not easily but, well, 6 years in a row and last year was the first time we lost. I would say that when we get this a little out of our heads, we’d actually say it might be okay for the sport as it could increase interest and get more people in the arenas.

[ You’re also working at Gentofte doing marketing and social media? ]

Yeah, that's also my regular job. I work as a digital content specialist in an event company. I’ve always been interested in social media, marketing and communication in general. A few years back, I thought because we are so heavily invested in making this sport better in Denmark then we should try to do more on social media to communicate it.

Now we are a few people working on the brand, especially with graphics and content. Soon, we will have a new logo and identity and re-do the website to make it more up to date. I am mostly in a coordinating role and helping wherever it’s needed.

One of our former players is making all the posts - especially on game days, when I have to be focused on playing and can’t update our stories and posts during the game!

We are dependent on people who want to help us to take videos or pictures and that’s a difficult thing because no one is getting paid. You need to find people who can see the bigger picture about getting more knowledge of futsal out to the public.

When we play internationally, our posting is more frequent because we can collaborate with e.g. UEFA’s pages and they can share to a bigger audience.

That's why I have been in this role for so many years. I want to do this, I want the general public to know more about the sport, and of course about our club.

[ Who is the main ‘target(s)’ that you are trying to ‘convert’ to futsal fans - are you looking at football fans as a priority ‘demographic’? ]

We want the sport to get better and better in the future. We want younger players who play football already to see what kind of sport this is.

I always say futsal is a hybrid between football, handball and hockey because it’s so action packed. It's technical, there’s a lot of goals, a lot of tackles.

Our target first and foremost is to get more people in the arena. That’s our biggest challenge. Copenhagen is a place where there's so many offers of sports and entertainment. It’s our task to show them why they should pick us and come to the arena to actually see a game.

Come to a game, it’s always really fun to watch. It’s not like 11-a-side in the rain or a storm - there’s no wind, it’s always warm inside - it’s action packed and there’s a lot of great details. It’s just a really good spectator sport.

[ I think futsal definitely has lots of potential. Especially, e.g. in the US a common ‘criticism’ of football is it’s ‘boring’ or low scoring. Futsal is much higher scoring and has tons of potential to create highlights. ]

There is big potential. Futsal is already really big in Portugal, Spain and Italy with full arena’s on the same level as regular football teams. For example Sporting Lisbon has their own arena (shared w/ the handball & basketball team) and it’s full! The same fans who go to the football games go to the futsal and the atmosphere in those arenas are just crazy.

In Denmark, the only times we have full arenas is during the finals or semi finals. Maybe.

[ What kind of attendance do you get at your matches? ]

Of course it depends on the team we’re playing but I would say our average attendance might be between 150 to 300.

There’s a club in the north, Hjørring, who won the championship last year. They have sold out every game, in an arena with maybe 800-1000 people - they’re sold out every game! One reason might be it’s one of the only ‘offers’ in that city but they’ve really connected to the city successfully. They will also host the Champions League preliminary round at the home arena this year.

Follow Adam & his club Futsal Gentofte in the arena and on Instagram and let him know you enjoyed their interview!

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